Good morning!
Your forecast: If it’s extreme heat you want, then it’s extreme heat you shall have. Environment Canada is calling for some blistering daytime temperatures over the next four days, including a high of 32 C today. But the mercury only rises from there. On Wednesday, the expected high is 33 C, while Thursday’s temperature could hit 36 C. And except for a bit of cloud for your morning wakeup today, bask in the glow of a whole lot of sunshine this week.
In case you missed it
Guilty plea in brutal robbery: A 26-year-old Winnipeg man could face a 10-year prison sentence for randomly targeting a Winnipeg woman and seriously assaulting her two years ago inside a parking garage in St. Vital. Deepanker Sharma has pleaded guilty to robbery with a firearm and aggravated assault after he knocked out a 72-year-old great-grandmother with the end of a shotgun, kicked her in the head and then drove a vehicle over her lower body as he sped away in the woman’s car. A 21-year-old co-accused, meanwhile, has pleaded not guilty. READ MORE
WSD trustees balk at demands: Trustees of the Winnipeg School Division met Monday night to discuss the demands of an independent investigator who assessed the actions of the board earlier this summer. And they aren’t in agreement with all John Wiens’ 22 recommendations. Wiens told Manitoba’s education minister James Allum earlier this summer he should fire the “out of control” WSD by the end of the year unless it cleans up its act. Board chair Mark Wasyliw said late Monday that trustees may ask Allum for clarification on some of the recommendations or withdraw some entirely. READ MORE
Shoal Lake 40 could get road: It appears the federal Conservatives have done an about face and agreed a highway to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation should be built. Just after outgoing Manitoba Tory MP Joy Smith held a press conference stating the federal government should ante up its one-third share of the cost of the ‘Freedom Road’ project’, Kenora MP Greg Rickford called Smith to tell her he’d committed in principle to build the road once the design study is done. The road would help end Shoal Lake 40’s century-long status as an island. READ MORE
Up next
Willy or won’t he play?: The Blue Bombers will not practise today but head coach Mike O’Shea is scheduled to address the media at 2:30 p.m. Of particular note will be the status of No. 1 quarterback Drew Willy, who was forced to leave the game after taking an awkward hit to the knee in the final seconds of the third quarter in a 38-8 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday.
Generating excitement for ManyFest: One of downtown Winnipeg’s largest street parties, ManyFest, hosts a special preview today of things to come for the September event. There’s a media event today from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the Broadway median between Edmonton and Kennedy streets, highlighting some of the food, entertainment and activities that will comprise the event’s fifth-year celebrations, slated for Sept. 11-13. Since its inception, ManyFest has attracted over 100,000 people to downtown Winnipeg.
Around the water cooler
Kisser apologizes to CBC reporter: The kid who interrupted a live TV report and kissed a CBC reporter on the cheek during a musical festival in British Columbia late last week has apologized. Daniel Davies, 17, said sorry through Twitter to Megan Batchelor. “At the moment I thought it was kind of a joke, then I stepped in your shoes, that’s when I kind of realized that it all was not a joke at all,” he said. Batchelor, who had filed a complaint with the RCMP, says she has accepted the apology.
Surging Jays back to business: Major League Baseball’s hottest team, the Toronto Blue Jays, enjoyed a day off Monday but return to action tonight as they host the Oakland Athletics. The Jays have won eight straight games and have pulled to within 1.5 games of the American League East Division leading New York Yankees. The Jays, 61-52, swept the Yankees in three straight contests over the weekend. Jays’ third baseman Josh Donaldson and recently acquired starting pitcher David Price were named the AL co-players of the week Monday.
Trending now
Oath Keepers: Heavily-armed members of a controversial patriot group are now part of the protests in Ferguson, Missouri. The Oath Keepers organization says its members — all former military, police and first responders — will “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” But a police official described the group’s presence as “both unnecessary and inflammatory.” Protesters and police confirmed a handful of Oath Keepers, carrying assault rifles and wearing bulletproof vest and camouflage gear were seen early this morning on the streets of Ferguson, which was under a state of emergency following demonstrations on the anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, a teen shot by a police officer in 2014.
Tony Lara: A ship captain on the reality television program ‘Deadliest Catch’ has died at the age of 50. Lara died in his sleep Saturday morning at a home in Sturgis, S.D., authorities said. There is no cause of death, pending autopsy results. He appeared on the show captaining the boat called the Cornelia Marie.
On this date
On August 11, 1926: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that a group of Manitoba prospectors raced through burning forests to stake their claim to gold and antimony on an island in Oxford Lake. Gangsters exchanged gunfire in “Chicago’s smartest business section,” wounding a spectator. Viscount Astor said Canada’s natural resources gave it unlimited possibilities. A Kootenay lake was home to a sea-serpent-like monster, spotted most recently by a rancher.
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